AIM House Attends the 5th Annual YATA Conference

Our AIM Team at YATA: Lily Wilkinson, Daniel Conroy, Kelly Corn

AIM House was extremely happy to attend and support the fifth annual YATA (Young Adult Transition Association) conference this October in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. As a founding member-program of the association, the leadership team at AIM House has been in attendance at each conference to date, and this year it was exciting and gratifying to see how the association and conference has grown. Executive Director of AIM House and YATA board member Kelly Corn said, “YATA was born from the desire to provide space for those who work with young adults to collaborate and learn from one another. As such, there is a kind of comraderie and common purpose here that is special —it’s my favorite conference of the year!”

The theme of this year’s conference was “Let’s Talk F2F: How Technology is Impacting Young Adults.” Presenters and speakers talked about how tech and specifically social media is showing up in mental health diagnosis and treatment. Conference attendees were lucky enough to hear from a host of experts, including aftercare programs, wilderness therapists and consultants.

Danny Conroy, who founded AIM House in 1999 along with his wife Mae, gave the keynote speech on Friday morning of the conference. He took the opportunity to address the ways in which the field has changed in the past 20 years, both in his personal observation, and also through the lens of the AIM House program. Danny, never one to shy away from humility or self-deprecating humor, joked with the audience about what it was like to start AIM House: “when you start a program you think you know something… then you quickly learn what you don’t know.” In keeping with the theme of the conference, he went on to speak about the ways in which technology and social media have shifted the realities of young adult treatment, citing ways in which tech and social media platforms can be both destructive AND positive — it’s all in how it’s framed.

Above all, gratitude must be given to Katie Jochum, who has taken over the helm of YATA, and orchestrated yet another fabulous conference for all. Kelly, Danny & the entire AIM House team is looking forward to continued participation and support of the association.